My travel agency was invited to get a first look at Royal Caribbean’s Icon of The Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship.
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First Look
Royal Caribbean has launched the largest-ever cruise ship and they invited some agencies to have a first look on a short sailing through the Bahamas before the inaugural customer sailing. I wasn’t able to attend, so I sent two of my finest travel advisors. They don’t write reviews but I do, so I gathered their photos to share here.
Balcony Cabin
For their short two-night cruise, they enjoyed a Balcony cabin. Everyone was shocked to see that it was reasonably large, and they described it as spacious compared to others they had tried. As the ship is brand new, the finish and amenities were modern and high quality.
Bathroom
We were all surprised to see just how large the shower was in the bathroom which ran the length of it. Most contemporary ships in service still have semi-circular showers barely large enough for an adult to turn around inside. This bathroom was nearly the size of a select-service hotel and our staff were delighted to see the added space.
The Ship Has Everything
Icon of the Seas offers more of everything than any ship every produced. There are 40 restaurants and bars spread throughout the vessel, 15 pools and hot tubs, six record-breaking waterslides.
Drawbacks
The mega ship’s sheer size can be exhausting. The ship’s length is just shy of 1200’ or nearly a quarter mile long. Dinner on one end of the ship while staying at the other can be a very long walk – great if you’re hitting the buffet to get your metabolism flowing, but not so great to roundtrip a half a mile in heels.
It’s not just the length but the height too. Yes, there are elevators to bring guests up and down the more than 20 decks, but some areas are easiest accessed by stairs especially outside on the upper decks.
There were some missing pieces as this was an industry preview ahead of its maiden voyage. For example, the specialty restaurants were unavailable during the three-day outing so it’s hard to evaluate them properly. There was plenty on offer in the Aquadome and in the traditional banquet-style dining facilities.
This concept is far more than just a ship. If on land, Icon of the Seas would qualify for the sixth-largest hotel in the world at 5,600 berths (including crew lodging.) On top of that, a full-scale water park, more than three dozen restaurants and bars, and it’s floating of course. A few spots weren’t working and crews could be seen making last-minute fixes.
Nearly Sold Out
Most of the ship is already sold out for the next year, especially the most expensive bi-level suites. An analysis of pricing performed by TPG showed that prices have nearly doubled following the hype of the ship (and heavy advertising) over the last year.
Most contemporary cruise lines like Royal rarely sell from the top down, just like airlines usually fill the back of the plane on leisure routes first. Icon is the exception with the most costly suites ($55,000-85,000/week for up to six people) already sold out on nearly all dates until 2025.
Dates for lower-priced rooms are sold out most sailings too with interior rooms running as much as $3,800 on available itineraries.
Conclusion
Our advisors jumped at the chance to check out the largest ship ever built and were impressed by its amenities. Not everything was ready for the public on this behind-the-scenes sneak peek but the ship will be a crowd-pleaser for those looking for a big ship experience. Most will have to wait until 2025 to try it out, and its bi-level family suites have changed the way ships like these sell which is an interesting market shift.
What do you think?
Monster premium to be on a poop barge with even more people?
Hard pass.
Truly, if I’m going to hell (likely) this is where I will end up. Or any cruise for that matter. But this adds a whole new level to hell. It makes Dante look like an amateur.
Looks better than a Carnival ship but will still be filled with the same type people you find on cruise ships. Overall not that smart financially enough to do the math and only look at the booking price. The type suckers these ships get rich off of, who end up getting nicked for fee after fee, expense after expense and then wonder why they spent so much.
And even gamble at an unregulated casino with the worst table gam rules in the world along with slot machines with poor hold percentages. Add in overpriced drinks, Wi-Fi charges, port fees, extra money to flush more than 5 times a day, etc.
Nothing to see here, just another example of companies getting rich off the stupidity of a certain segment of the public that works 50 weeks a year to throw their money away on a “vacation”
+1 Me thinks Kyle is targeting the wrong audience, lol.
No targeting here, just sharing the information. We cover Hyatt Place, theme parks, and middle seats in coach on a long haul just as we do first class lounges, lie flat seats, and industry news.
Ok, Kyle, lol.
I appreciate the coverage because I know a couple of people who are into cruises and every so often they try to convince me to join them on one. Posts like this act as helpful reminders reinforcing my desire to stay away from cruises.
They aren’t all this though. Small ships or private sections are a completely different game.
It reminds me of the Evergreen cargo ship that ran aground in Annapolis last year.
You cannot pay me enough to get into this ship. There is absolutely no way I will be joining 10k people in a cruise. Never!
It’s a lot of people but it’s nearly sold out even at that size. I can’t imagine a land-based equivalent whereby a new Las Vegas hotel – with interior rooms, no less – can nearly sell out for a year in advance. It’s an anomaly.
It is not an anomaly. It is about telling everyone you traveled in the biggest cruise ship. People need to tell everyone what they did nowadays. It is Las Vegas in the water and there are enough people that likes that. Not me. It will be a total zoo.
I must admit that I’d be tempted to go on a mega-ship but with one critical proviso: one night only!
Took the QM2 across the Atlantic in late September. Only a few children aboard with school already started. That’s an ideal cruise for me. Yep, did get hit with a bar tab in the pub, but was expected while crossing the Atlantic?
+1. An Atlantic “crossing” on the Queen Mary 2 is a magnificent way to travel, east bound especially as trying to sleep at 30k feet and bad jet lag is avoided. The crossing is a wonderful week in adult cultured company, good food, great entertainment and refreshing yet sleep enhancing sea air. A circular “cruise” on a large crowded noisy ship is in my view something to be avoided……..
Barf
Who does this actually appeal to?
I’d rather not go on vacation if this were the only option.
Who would pay $85,000 to stay in what is essentially a floating Six Flags? This looks miserable.
Imagine all the urine and feces in that pool.
Ten thousand sick from the norovirus!
I was hoping the silver lining of Covid would be that these floating monstrocities would go away once and for all, but here we are…
We’re on the inaugural paid sailing this week. Nothing has felt busy so far. Definitely much easier to navigate than the free for all breakfast of your average Hyatt place or Springhill suites when they get busy.
Come cruise with me: It’s better than breakfast at a SpringHill Suites!
Truly an incredible self own.